Walking to Charly’s to get ice cream down in Cape May, NJ, was one of my favorite events of each week in the summer. Also, your current fave ice cream flavor was a big discussion point among your friends and apparently spoke volumes about who you were as a person. For years I was cookies and cream (so vanilla), then I took a turn for the dangerous when I ventured into peanut butter chocolate land. An old favorite that I would return to occasionally was mint chocolate chip – the white, not the green (get it right).

These brownies taste JUST like that ice cream, as the chocolate on top is reminiscent of the flat chocolate chips in the white ice cream. The brownie portion is very fudgy and sweet, and the mint frosting perfectly refreshing. The brownies are small, which is just right as they’re pretty rich. After serving big ol’ california burgers, fries, and salad on Saturday night, these brownies were just the thing to end the evening. They come together pretty easily and would be a fantastic spring and summer dessert.

Let’s talk about chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s unsweetened is fine) comes in individually wrapped squares. Each square is 1 oz, so for these brownies you would need two squares. For the chocolate topping chips, I recommend Ghirardelli bittersweet (or if bought from BJ’s they’re called Double Chocolate) chips. They are bigger than your average chip and to me they have the BEST taste of any chip out there. A handful of them with my coffee has become part of my morning ritual. You should buy some, just saying.

Also, a lot of times my recipes are healthy. As I’ve probably mentioned before, I don’t think health has a home in dessert land. On weekdays if I want dessert I’ll have a chocolate vitatop (if you don’t know what this is – Amazon, buy, eat), but when entertaining or eating out, I want the real thing. These have lots of butter in them – they’re brownies, duh. Cut them small, have one, then go brush your teeth (that’s my fave “stop eating” trick).

Mint Brownies

Makes 25

Slightly Adapted from Bon Appetit

Brownies

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

White Topping

1 c. sifted powdered sugar

2 tbsp. butter, room temperature

1 tbsp. milk

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Chocolate Topping

2/3 c. chocolate chips

2 tbsp. butter

Green sprinkles for topping, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick spray.

3. Microwave butter (1 stick) with unsweetened chocolate for about 45 seconds. Stir well. Microwave another 15 seconds and stir until smooth. Set aside.

4. With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate mixture, flour, extracts and salt. Mix until JUST combined.

5. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.

6. White brownies bake, mix powdered sugar, butter, milk and extract (all the white topping ingredients) with a fork until smooth.

7. Evenly spread white topping on entire surface of brownies. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

8. Melt “chocolate topping” chips and butter in a small bowl for 30 seconds.Microwave in 15 second increments (maybe just once more), stirring each time, until smooth.

9. Spread chocolate topping on white topping. Sprinkle green sprinkles.

10. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. This could be made the day ahead – just keep covered in the fridge. Brownies can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to two weeks. Thaw them briefly in the fridge before serving.

11. Cut into 25 squares and serve.

Hmmmm one brownie or two? Or five?